Thank you for stopping by and taking to time to watch, listen, or read this week’s message, What do we gain by being in Christ?
I hope you find encouragement in your faith in Jesus, and maybe even learn something new along the way 🙂
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As we read and study the Word of God, do we ever wonder what we gain by being in Christ? Sure, we know that through faith in Jesus we are promised eternal life. However, that life is something that is yet to happen. Yes, we are living an eternal life now as we wait for the fullness of eternity to come. Even so, beyond eternity, what do we gain by being in Christ?
Today we begin our look at Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae. In the first few paragraphs, we can see several gains we receive because of our faith in Christ. The question is, do we believe, and have we received them for ourselves?
Let’s dive in to Paul’s letter…
1. In Christ, we are Holy & becoming Faithful – 2
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
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In several of Paul’s letters, he addresses his readers by calling them “holy,” or “righteous,” or some other term of adoration. The reality of this greeting is that the people of Colossae were truly “holy” in the sight of God because of their faith in Jesus.
This is the same truth for us. If we have received Jesus as our Savior, then we are holy as well. When God looks upon us, He sees His Son. He sees perfection. He sees holiness. Even though we have not arrived at this on a personal level, in the spiritual realm we have already arrived. Do we believe this?
Along with being holy, we are becoming faithful. Through our consistency of life in Christ, our faithfulness in Him is increasing. We are holy ones of God living to serve Him with our entire lives.
2. In Christ, we can live a life of Faith & Love – 3-5
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people—the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you.
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Paul thanked God for the faith and love of the people of Colossae. He also explained the reason for these traits. It was not based on their own abilities, but on the work of God. Their faith and love came about because of the hope they had received from the gospel. The hope of heaven through a relationship with Jesus was all they needed to grow in faith and love for God and one another.
If we are in Christ, we, too, can live a life of faith and love. When we place our faith in Jesus, and grow in that faith, one of the results will be an outgrowth of love. We will come to love God more as well as our fellow man. This will happen because of Jesus. The apostle John wrote this truth in 1 John 4.19, “We love because He first loved us.” So, when we are in Christ, we gain the ability to grow in faith and love.
3. In Christ, we will Bear Fruit & Grow – 6-8
In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
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Along with faith and love, Paul was encouraged at how the “whole world,” including the Colossians, was bearing fruit and growing from the gospel. As they heard the gospel message and began to understand the grace of God, they began to grow and bear fruit.
Again, John writes about this fruit bearing in the gospel that bears his name. He writes the words of Jesus in John 15.16,
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
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In His work in us, Jesus will bear fruit through us. Not just any fruit, but fruit that will last. In other words, the closer we get to Jesus, the greater His work will be in us and through us. The closer we get to Him, the more we will grow and the more fruit we will bear.
4. In Christ, we will be filled with all that we need – 9-11
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,
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Paul tells the Colossians about his prayers for them. In these prayers, he continually asks God to fill them with all that they needed. What he asks for the Colossian believers is what we are to ask God for ourselves.
Paul asked God to fill the Colossians with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding that only the Spirit can give. This prayer allowed the people “to live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way.” In the same way, we will live this kind of life when we ask for and receive these attributes from the Spirit.
When these traits are received, it allows us to please God. How? Through good works and the bearing of fruit. We please God as we grow in our knowledge of Him. As we please God, He, in turn, strengthens us and gives us endurance and patience by His Spirit.
Ultimately, we receive everything we need for life and godliness when we are in Christ. The apostle Peter touched on this when he wrote in 1 Peter 1.3,
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
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In other words, when we are in Christ, His power is able to give us everything we need to live the life He desires. This life is not about ourselves, it is about His glory and goodness.
5. In Christ we can be thankful – 12-14
and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
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In all things, we can be thankful. Paul applauds the Colossian believers for their joyful thanksgiving. They understood all that they had received because of their faith in Jesus. Because of that understanding, they were quick to give thanks to the Father for all He had done.
Think about what God has done for us. He has qualified us to share in His inheritance. We have been rescued from the “dominion of darkness” and have been ushered into His kingdom. He has redeemed us and forgiven us from our sins. Our sins have no control over us anymore. We receive all these things because we are in Christ. Not by our own merits, but by the work of Jesus on our behalf.
Because of this, we can be thankful for the God we serve and the Christ who made everything right.
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So, what do we gain by being in Christ? In these first few verses in Paul’s letter to the Colossians, here are just a few of the things we become in Christ…
Holy, Faithful, Loving, Hopeful, Fruitful, Growing, Filled, Thankful, Qualified, Rescued, Redeemed, Forgiven, and this is just the short list of what is gained in Christ.
What a blessing we have received! What a great place to be in as we live our lives for Him.
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Have a Great Day!